Former James Brown-impersonator Charles Bradley brought uplifting, heart-swelling, raw Seventies soul to a recent London show

SOUL: James Brown impersonator Charles Bradley is now a star in his own right [GETTY]

"HANDS up! Who here wants to go to church?" A sea of arms punched the air upwards, towards the gilded ceiling of Koko concert hall in North London.

What followed was a blood, sweat and tears-soaked hour and a half in which Camden concert-goers were transported to a Seventies soul heaven. The reverend leading his people? Mr Charles Bradley.

Better known in his home town of New York as a James Brown impersonator, Charles Bradley was spotted by the retro-soul label Daptone in 2011.

They decided he had star quality and recorded his debut album, No Time For Dreaming. Two years later he has a second under his belt, Victim of Love, along with a growing fanbase.

A recent documentary Charles Bradley: Soul of America, which aired on BBC Four presented Bradley’s story as one impossible not to be moved by.

He has lived in the poverty-stricken Brooklyn projects most of his life, caring for his invalid mother and has endured homelessness, a near-fatal illness and the unsolved murder of his brother.

At the gig last week, Bradley’s glitter gold shoes and hilarious, peacock-strutting dance moves showed a much more polished and happy artist but his voice - his unbelievably haunting screaming voice - still churned from the depths of a worn out soul.

From the romantic Strictly Reserved, where he sang of love as an escape from hard city life, to the biting Love Bug Blues or the politically charged The World (Is Going Up In Flames), Bradley had the crowd hanging off his every word.

His band The Extraordinaires pounded fun and funk into his heavy lyrics; the trumpets, wah-wah pedals and heavy bass changed the big and airy venue into a sweaty soul stomp ground.

By the end we had converted to a new preacher and demanded he not leave. The audience of old, young, black, white roared and stamped for an encore - something I haven't heard so loud from a crowd in years - during which Bradley gave a sermon asking for "more love in the world."

The authenticity in Bradley's voice connected us straight to his heart; adults of all ages were embracing him as he walked around the venue after the gig, like he was their saviour for the night.

This is mighty for a man once so despairing he was close to suicide. Charles Bradley sings and screams out as if his life depended on it.